'American Idol's' Phillip Phillips Mourns Slain Teen Maren Sanchez

Sanchez covered Phillips' "Home" for a school talent show in 2012, and the "Idol" alum paid tribute to the girl Friday: "My thoughts and prayers are with her family."

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News of the death of 16-year old Connecticut high school student Maren Sanchez has deeply affected Phillip Phillips, who tweeted his condolences Friday.

"I am so sad to hear of the tragic death of Maren Sanchez," he wrote on Twitter. "My thoughts and prayers are with her family."

The teen was a fan of the season 11 winner and covered his song "Home" in a school talent show the same year he won the competition series. (See her performance below.)

Sanchez was stabbed in a hallway of Jonathan Law High School in Milford, about an hour's drive from New York City, around 7:15 a.m. Friday. Staff members and paramedics performed life-saving measures on the girl, but she was pronounced dead at the hospital, police said. A 16-year-old boy was taken into custody. His name wasn't released because of juvenile offender laws, said Police Chief Keith Mello.

Reports indicate the suspect may have stabbed Sanchez after she turned down his request for her to attend prom with him.

Sanchez was a member of the National Honors Society and the school's drama club. She was scheduled to appear in the production Little Shop of Horrors in a variety of roles, including working as a puppeteer of the plant.

The prom, originally scheduled for Friday, has been postponed, but the Twitter feed for school newspaper The Advocate reported a vigil was held, with students dressed in their prom gowns and tuxedos in Sanchez's honor. Students are also being asked to wear purple on Monday in her memory. The Advocatetweeted that Sanchez will be honored as prom queen and that "Home" will be the prom song when the dance eventually takes place.